Chapter 31: Even Heavier Artillery
Kirby entered the right wing with a feeling of foreboding. What was this steel seafood that they were talking about?
Captain: "Ready?"
"Is this OK, Sir?"
"Are you positive about this?"
Captain: "Be quiet! This is our only chance! Release Heavy Lobster!"
Kirby was wondering what Heavy Lobster was until it crashed down behind him. It was a gigantic robotic lobster complete with an array of weapons that included a flamethrower.
Heavy Lobster used his flamethrower, but Kirby had already started running away. Heavy Lobster chased after Kirby, destroying everything it touched. Kirby was running and running, but Heavy Lobster activated his jets and started to catch up.
Captain: "Yes! Heavy Lobster, GET KIRBY!"
"Oh no, our battleship is being destroyed..."
Captain: "That's not important now! Go ahead, Heavy Lobster! Destroy! DESTROY!"
"Gooey!" Kirby shouted into the phone. "Get me a warpstar out of here!"
"Not a good idea," Gooey replied. "I'll bet anything that that lobster has the fifth star rod shard and you don't want to lose it. You'll have to find a different way to defeat it."
Kirby closed the connection. He had gotten an idea.
Kirby started to turn and weave around until that following lobster had destroyed an arena-like circle in the wing.
Kirby turned and faced Heavy Lobster. Heavy Lobster turned and faced Kirby.
Suddenly, Heavy Lobster unleashed an army of mini metal lobsters. Kirby, however, just sucked them all up and shot them at Heavy Lobster, who sustained heavy damage. Then, Heavy Lobster opened up one of its claws and out popped a small orange blob. Kirby stared at it. The blob started to bubble. The blob popped and a strange cloud of gas now hung in the air. Heavy Lobster released more mini metal lobsters and Kirby sucked them up, but as he did so, he inhaled the gas as well. Kirby suddenly felt his mouth tightening up. He tried to open his mouth, but he couldn't. There was some sort of sticky stuff that was keeping his mouth shut. Kirby tried to inhale, he tried and tried. Without his powers, he was a sitting duck.
"Gmmmeh!" Kirby attempted to speak through the phone, "How boo uh gep muh muff opmmm?!"
"What?!" replied Gooey.
"Hup muh!"
"What?!"
At this point, Kirby was smacked in the back with one of Heavy Lobster's claws. He flopped over on the ground and Heavy Lobster picked him up. Kirby struggled, but he could not escape Heavy Lobster's grip. Heavy Lobster charged up its flamethrower and blasted Kirby full in the face. Even through Kirby's flaming pain Heavy Lobster held him fast.
Kirby suddenly remembered something: his most recently acquired power! He flattened his body and wriggled out of Heavy Lobster's claw.
"Ha, HA!" Kirby yelled and then he stopped and smiled. He could open his mouth again. The effects of that gas must not have been permanent.
Heavy Lobster, however, produced another of those blobs, which stated to bubble. Kirby inhaled the blob and swallowed, hoping to be able to use that gas attack on Heavy Lobster to prevent it from using its weapons. Instead, he became Paint Kirby! Paint Kirby then activated his one-time-use-only power to completely cover the entire arena and Heavy Lobster with a strange goop.
Voices suddenly burst over the phone.
"Oh no! Heavy Lobster's blind!"
Captain: "WHAT?! Paint ability?!"
"It's no good. He can't see at all!"
Captain: "Unbelievable! Kirby's still alive!"
Heavy Lobster spun around a couple of times and torched its surroundings with its flamethrower, but Kirby was nowhere near it. Heavy Lobster released lots of mini metal lobsters and Kirby sucked them all up. Kirby spat them back out at Heavy Lobster and it flipped over. Heavy Lobster was now completely helpless. The great machine was upside-down, blind, and very badly damaged. Pieces of Heavy Lobster started falling off. Kirby inhaled the one that contained the flamethrower to become Fire Kirby! Fire Kirby torched what was left of Heavy Lobster and reduced it to a pile of smoldering rubbish.
Kirby reached in and pulled out the fifth piece of the star rod!